1. Field of the Invention:
The cutter of the invention relates to devices intended for cutting oval and circular picture frame mat openings.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
It has been previously known to provide a picture frame mat opening cutter having a retractable spool wound cable and adjustable cutter blade arrangement for use with mat positioning pins to cut beveled oval and circular openings for picture frame mats. Such a device has been sold as the Frameworks oval mat cutter by Frameworks, Inc., Route 1, Box 56, Cedar Grove, NC 27231. Such a device has been sold on a widespread basis and the construction and operation of the same has become known among those engaged in the picture framing business.
Copending application Ser. No. 909,673 provides a precision mat opening cutter which, like the previously-mentioned Frameworks oval mat cutter, incorporates a retractable cable and adjustable cutting blade arrangement which can be used in conjunction with mat positioning pins on the working surface to cut beveled oval and circular openings in picture frame mats. The copending application incorporates an adjustable template guide with the Frameworks oval mat cutter which mounts in a slot provided on the bottom surface of the Frameworks oval mat cutter and which adapts such cutter to being used with a template to cut special mat opening shapes. The template guide can be placed in a position to be used with a template or can be placed in a reversed stored position when special shapes are not being cut requiring the use of a template. An alternative embodiment of the copending application provides a template guide which is fixed in the cutter bottom surface but can be deployed or retracted without any necessary adjustment by the operator.
While the original Frameworks oval and circular mat opening cutter and that of the copending application have provided relatively simple, easy to use devices, their use has indicated a need for further improvement with regard to providing a means for assuring a tangential relation between the blade and the cut, as well as simplifying the use of the blade depth setting mechanism.
Other prior art is also recognized. Graphic Engineering and Manufacturing, Inc., 754 W. Algonquin Road, Arlington Heights, IL 60005, advertises and sells a cutter capable of cutting ovals and circles of various sizes utilizing patterns. This cutter is advertised as "The Logan Oval Mat And Glasscutter". This device, however, does not provide the pressure feature sought by the present invention. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,626 provides a "Cutter For Sheet Material" for cutting picture frame mat material but which makes only straight line cuts. In comparison, the device of the present invention lends itself to cutting ovals and circles.
The object of the present invention is, thus, to provide an improved picture frame mat opening cutter for cutting ovals and circles which provides a means for enabling the amount of downward pressure applied to the cutting blade during cutting to control the depth of cut and, unlike the original Frameworks oval and circle mat opening cutter, does not require a rotating cutting board.